Why the BJP is here for the long haul – and the Opposition is still flailing
Aside from the advantages of the ruling party’s institutional changes, its ability to constantly set the terms of the political narrative remains its strength.
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The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has asserted that it will be in power for a long time.
Home Minister Amit Shah recently claimed that the party would be at the helm for the next 15 years. Earlier, in 2015, he had said the next 30-year period would be the era of the BJP.
The party has been in power in the state of Gujarat for more than two decades. It has ruled India for over 10 years and won a third successive five-year term in June 2024.
What makes the BJP so sure it will continue to be in power?
The BJP has made institutional changes aimed at retaining power for a long time. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi claims that it has institutionalised malpractices, and that is why the fight was not against a party but the “entire machinery” of the Indian state. An election could not be fair without a free press, an independent judiciary, and a transparent election commission that is objective and neutral, he noted.
However, malpractices alone cannot explain the continuing electoral success of the BJP. There are complex strategies and political narratives that the party uses to attract voters.
The Opposition needs to decode the BJP’s political strategy.
It seems that the BJP, backed by its ideological parent organisation the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is...
